The Dialectics Of Morality In Alexander Pope's An Essay On Man

An Essay on Man is an important philosophical work published in the latter half of Alexander Pope's literary career,which occupies a unique position in his oeuvres.An Essay on Man consists of four parts:Epistle ?,Epistle ?,Epistle ?,and Epistle ?.The first Epistle gives an overview of the "general Map of Man"(I8)by revisiting the popular 18th-century concept of the Great Chain of Being,in which human beings form one of the links,occupying the position between angelic beings and animals,and man is the mixed product of reason and passion as a result.In Epistle ?,Pope examines the ideal qualities of man or what man should strive to do in order to become perfect,and discusses the dialectical relation between passion and reason,as well as the function of self-love in man.In Epistle ?,Pope discusses the inter-dependency of beings in the Great Chain of Being,the function of instinct and the influence of self-love in restoring a harmonious society.In Epistle ?,Pope gives his idea of the ideal state of happiness,which is a sensible coordination of self-interest and public interest.This thesis focuses on Epistle ?,and tries to analyze Pope's moral view with the help of the Enlightenment theories.Both Pope and the Enlightenment philosophers focus on man instead of God.They all stress the importance of human passion,and try to give an answer to the long-discussed question of vice and virtue.Using the philosophical ideas of John Locke,the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury,David Hume,and Adam Smith,this thesis will examine Pope's moral view against the moral background of the 18th-century British society,and reveal the make-up of the ideal morality in the mind of Alexander Pope.This thesis consists of Introduction,three chapters,and Conclusion.Introduction gives information of the poet and the critical condition of An Essay on Man.Chapter l examines the concept of the Great Chain of Being,key word self-love in Epistle II,the definition of reason,and the dialectical balance between the two.Chapter 2 deals with the theory of passion in An Essay on Man,in which,my examination is divided into three parts:the relationship between passion and reason,the difference among the passions,and the connection of virtue and vice.Chapter 3 offers my analysis of the main-stream 18th-century moral notions,in particular the opinions of Samuel Johnson.Through the comparison between Pope and Johnson,I connect Pope's philosophical thoughts with his personal experience and the social background,and come to the conclusion that Pope's moral and philosophical views go well beyond the established 18th-century notion of the ideal gentleman which requires man to be completely rational,obedient and pious.Nearly 300 years later,what Pope thought and argued in his Essay on Man still applies and we can still learn much from this seminal work.